Resource
No Spec Resources
The RGD’s Spec Policy
The RGD’s Spec Policy
What is spec work?
Free work or spec (speculative) work can be defined as, “Providing design services to develop creative concept work for free (or for a nominal fee) as part of a new business pitch.”
The RGD’s stance on spec work
The RGD’s Code of Ethics prevents RGD Members from doing work on spec.
The RGD’s policy statement, which can be downloaded above, details the harmful effects of demands for spec work and provides advice on the professional methods for selecting graphic design services.
Additional resources
- No Spec Presentation at Style Frames NY by Lionel Gadoury RGD
- What is Spec Work? informational video by Topic Simple
- The NO! SPEC Campaign by NO!SPEC
- Position on Spec Work by AIGA
- Why We Don't Make Speculative Presentations by Creative Business
- When a "Contest" is Not a Contest by Jeff Fisher
- Don't Design on Spec by Jeffrey Zeldman
- Spec Work Arithmetic by Gunnar Swanson
- Time for Us All to Ditch Spec Creative Pitches by Zak Mroueh
- BuzzFeed article: A Lot Of People Are Feeling This Angry Email From A Designer Who Claims He Was Asked To “Work For Free”
- The Dark Side of Spec Work: A Creative Professional’s Wake-Up Call by Lauren Turetsky
Report requests for spec
To inform us of a case of spec work or for further information, contact:
Hilary Ashworth, Executive Director
Email: execdir@rgd.ca
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